Energy Assistance Available Until July 1

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Energy Assistance Available Until July 1

April 29, 2016

The snow may be gone but many Minnesotans are still digging out from under winter heating bills. The Energy Assistance Program (EAP) helps low-income households pay their energy bills and with energy emergencies like shut-offs and threatened disconnections.

EAP has an opportunity to serve more households and offer additional benefits to households already served this year. This opportunity arose because program participation is down this year due to energy and fuel prices remaining low and mild weather.

Given that money is available, EAP is taking several actions to deliver additional services to more households, including:

• Extending the deadline to receive applications from May 31 to July 1, 2016 for this program year
• Increasing the maximum 'Crisis' benefit from $500 to $1,000 for households experiencing an energy emergency (e.g. shut-off or threat of disconnect)

Yet we know that 70% of households eligible for EAP have not yet asked for help. With funds still available EAP wants to reach out to eligible Minnesotans who have difficulty paying their energy bills and encourage them to apply for assistance. Households that include children under the age of six, people with disabilities, veterans, and seniors are especially encouraged to apply. 

The attached flyer may be helpful in getting people connected to EAP.

We encourage you to perform outreach to the people you serve. Whether through a call campaign, a targeted mailing, a bill insert or something else, EAP asks that you work with it to let people know help is available.